Body of missing 1-year-old girl located, parents charged in her death

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Albuquerque, NM (KOAT) — Another child has been found dead, and the Albuquerque Police Department said her parents are the ones responsible.

“This has been an ongoing investigation. We put out a missing persons alert,” said Albuquerque Police Department Public Information Officer Simon Drobik.

APD put out the alert on Wednesday for 23-year-old Monique Romero, 26-year-old David Zuber and their 1-year-old, Anastazia Zuber. APD said a relative of theirs told police on Dec. 18, that David Zuber claimed to have drowned the girl.

“It was reported that she had drowned. Originally, that is what was reported from the family members to another family member. That is when we launched the investigation,” Drobik said.

Two weeks after that report, APD officers found Anastazia Zuber’s body buried in a home’s backyard on the Northeast side of Albuquerque and arrested her parents.

Romero and David Zuber both face several charges, including child abuse resulting in death, tampering with evidence and conspiracy. Romero made her first court appearance on Saturday morning.

“We’re saying that we believe we have enough evidence to charge this mother and father with abuse of a child resulting in death and it comes down to the two parents who perpetrated this crime and now we have a long investigation to do,” Drobik said.

The Office of the Medical Investigator has not released the exact cause of death for the 1-year-old. APD said there are more locations to investigate and they are looking at more warrants to execute.